Is This Racism? Or Social Justice? A Debate in Debate
Samuel Bryan • Nov 13 2019
Michael Moreno believed his college debate coach was racist. So he recorded him.
Michael Moreno, a student at Weber State, thought his debate coach, Ryan Wash, was promoting racist arguments that did not honor the intent or spirit of college debate. He recorded his sessions with Wash, then published them.
The video, which can be watched here on LBRY, opens with Wash, making a claim that… is better listened to than summarized.
Some, including Moreno, have called Wash a racist and his arguments absurd. But Wash is the 2013 National College debate champion, and his arguments have been supported by others in policy debate and academia. For example, in this discussion between Zach Baker and LBRY creator Benjamin Boyce.
Moreno previously made the news when he was halted by a debate moderator after quoting professor (and LBRY creator) Jordan Peterson.
When Moreno’s videos were threatened to be deleted by YouTube, he published them to LBRY.
What do you think? Is this Moreno right? Or is Wash being unfairly attacked? Or something in between? You can let other LBRYians, and Moreno, know in the comments!
A note from the LBRY CEO on this LBRYCast
This is a more contentious topic than what we typically, if ever, have featured on LBRYcast. We strive to be a neutral platform that does not take sides on issues other than free speech (it’s awesome) and personal choice in content consumption (you should have it). The fact that Moreno’s videos may be deleted tipped us over into featuring it.
Do you like this type of content? Do you want more of it, or less? And do you think we covered it neutrally? Feel free to let me know personally at jeremy@lbry.com or on Twitter @jeremykauffman.
